Amnesia
by xxvisionaryxx
Summary: Hermione Granger had to do a horrible thing to ensure her parents' safety. She had to take away their memory. Set after DH Amnesia is the story of Hermione, her parents and the restoration of their memory. R and R, I know it's short, but there's more come
1. Chapter 1

Monica Jenkins stared out of her kitchen window, into the tiny backyard that was getting flooded by torrential rain. What on earth was the point of moving to Australia if the weather was as bad as it was back in England?

Monica sighed, she had been living in the country of her dreams, Australia, for the past year, but it hadn't been as pleasant as she'd thought it would be. Apart from the often miserable weather, which she hadn't been expecting, Australia had brought on a whole lot of trials.

Monica set the kettle to boil and then went back to staring out the window. She felt very much like she had when she was a little girl and she'd sit watching the rain. She'd been helpless then and she felt helpless now.

She'd had another nightmare last night, another one of her dreams with shadows flickering just beyond the edge of her reach. She had awoken screaming for the thousandth time that year, not knowing what it was she screamed for. The details of the dream always seemed to escape her.

Monica's hands went about making her morning cocoa, while her mind switched off, she could have made the cocoa in her sleep that's how familiar the process was for her. Once she was done she sat down at the small kitchen table and began to sip the hot drink, as she did so she caught a glimpse of her bushy hair in one of the various mirrored surfaces of the kitchen. For some odd reason it reminded her of something, of someone.

Monica swept her hair back, straining her mind as she tried to work out who it was. For a second she saw a shadow appear in her memory, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Who was that? And why couldn't she remember them anymore?

Monica had the uneasy feeling that she had forgotten something important, and she would only remember it when it was too late. It wasn't the first time that she'd had this feeling, it had plagued her since just before they'd moved to Australia, which, co-incidentally was when her night terrors had begun too.

She had tried to explain this to Wendell, but the man really seemed more muddled than she was. He said the strangest things sometimes, like he'd thought they'd had a daughter and he'd accidentally referred to himself as 'Bill' once. Monica had not bought his excuse about just being confused, Wendell and Bill were about as far apart as you could get. How he had managed to get them confused she didn't know.

Yet despite these slips, Bill seemed happy enough. He didn't have nightmares and he didn't have nagging shadows dancing on the edges of his mind. Or at least that's what he told her when she asked. Monica was the only one who was going through that.

Monica cradled the cocoa cup in her hands, she hadn't been drinking for a while now, absorbed in her thoughts, but now she took long draughts of the burning liquid. It was as though she thought that she could burn out all of the anguish that had slowly built up inside her. It didn't work.

Monica set down the empty cocoa cup and sighed heavily. What was wrong with her? Here she was, in sunny Queensland Australia, living her dream. She was living her dream, but all she could think about were the shadows that chased around in her mind. She didn't know who they were, but she knew that they were important.

Slowly she got up and went to the full length mirror, in her and Wendell's bedroom. Her had awoken something in her mind, maybe if she looked at herself for long enough she would remember? Because Monica knew that she had definitely forgotten something.

She looked her reflection up and down, and there she was, long bushy hair and piercing brown eyes. She smiled at herself, and she saw the flash of brilliant, white, perfectly straight teeth. Monica shook her head, why had she thought, just for an instant that she was a dentist?

Still shaking her head she went back to examining her reflection. Yes, she thought, she definitely did remind herself of someone, but who? Her mother? Monica could not even remember her mother anymore. She couldn't remember anything about her life, except for her and Wendell and her need to live in Australia.

Monica could somehow feel the absence of all the joyous memories that she knew should have filled her mind. She sank to the floor quietly sobbing, there was nothing left anymore, just shadows chasing around and around in what had once been her memory.

As she sank down, her eyes happened to glance out the window and in that instant she was sure she had seen someone there. Someone with bushy hair, just like hers.


	2. Chapter 2

I know the chapters are short, but it's more fun to write that way for this story. Hope you enjoy. As always reviews are wonderful.

**It all belongs to JK Rowling**

**Chapter Two : A nasty surprise**

Hermione Granger slipped into the tiny shed at the edge of her parents' backyard. She sat down on the least cobwebbed side of the workbench and buried her head in her hands. She felt like a criminal, hiding in this shed, hiding from her parents.

She didn't know what to do next. Maybe she could hide here until they were asleep and then remove her memory charm? It would probably be the best way to avoid the confrontation that would be sure to ensue, if she simply went in there and claimed to be their daughter.

Hermione pulled her head out of her arms and wiped away the few tears that clung to the edges of her eyelashes. It had seemed like a smart thing to do at the time, making her parents unable to speak a word about Harry to Voldemort and keeping them safe at the same time. Now she wasn't so sure. She guessed that if she could go back and change things, she wouldn't, but that didn't mean she had no regrets.

She regretted all of this. She regretted hiding in her parents' shed, in Australia, like some kind of fugitive. She regretted making that charm so hard to lift. It would take her nearly an hour to get it off, which was why she needed to wait for them to go to sleep.

Hermione started as she heard the sound of footsteps heading in her direction. She slipped quickly behind an old cupboard, just as the door slid open. She held still, hopefully whoever it was hadn't seen her.

"Who are you?" a voice called. That voice broke Hermione's heart in half. Her mother sounded afraid, terrified even. She stuffed her fist into her mouth, determined not to voice the reply that was rising up onto her lips.

"It's no use hiding; I know that you're there. I've seen you. Come out from behind that wardrobe," Hermione panicked at her mother's words. Of course she could have just disapparated, but her mother was already suspicious, and the popping sound that would accompany the disapparation really wasn't all that subtle. Her eyes darted left and right, desperately searching for an escape, but finding none.

Out of sheer desperation, she tapped herself hard on the head with her wand. It was the only thing she could think of. Her Disillusionment Charm took effect almost at once, and she could feel the sticky, cool, feel of it trickling slowly down her back, turning her into a human chameleon.

It was, however, not fast enough. Mrs. Granger rounded the corner and screamed in horror at the terrible sight that confronted her. Hermione's top half was invisible, the charm making her blend perfectly with the shed wall behind her. Her bottom half though was another matter. It was perfectly visible, but with every passing second more of her body was fading away. To her mother it must have looked like a pair of legs, without a body, had somehow made it's way into her garage.

Her heart clenched with pain as she saw her mother's deathly white face, and knew that disapparating would probably have been the smarter thing to do. Mrs. Granger looked as though she was about to faint. "What-?" she staggered back, her unformed question hanging thickly in the air.

Hermione heaved a disembodied sigh. This was going to take a lot of explaining.


	3. Chapter 3

Yes, so it's another short chapter, I don't like this one as much as the other two, but it's the best I can do for now. Maybe I'll do an overhaul of it one day. Tell me what you think, your reviews are much appreciated.

**JK Rowling's not mine.**

**Chapter Three: Tea with Monica Jenkins, aka Susan Granger.**

Hermione was seated across the dining-room table from her mother. She bit her lip and waited for her Confundus Charm to lift, her mum was sure to start shouting when that happened. For now though she just sat there, calm as ever, sipping tea, there was no sign that she had recently had a struggle with an intruder in the garage on that calm visage.

Hermione sighed, she had not wanted to confound her mother, but like a lot of other things it had been necessary. The struggle in the garage had been a very brief and only slightly violent one. Susan had tried to scream and Hermione had confounded her after clapping a hand over her mother's mouth. She had then walked the dazed woman up to the house,lifting her disillusionment charm along the way.

Susan, or Monica, as she was now known had not protested but allowed herself to be pulled along by the now visible girl. The girl whose hair was exactly the same as hers. In the small section of her mind that had not been dreadfully affected by the confundus charm, Monica had wondered whether this girl was related to her. Perhaps Wendell had been right and they did have a daughter?

Hermione had led her mother into the house, made them both cups of tea and was now waiting for the charm to wear off. It was very likely that she would have to confound her mother again or even stun her, but she wanted to explain things to her before that, just so the entire thing would not be quite so underhanded.

Hermione put her teacup down nervously; she could see that Monica was beginning to shake off her spell. "You-" her mother's stifled cry was immediately stifled by Hermione's 'Silencio', it was underhanded but she had no other choice. She sighed. If she hadn't done it Susan's yells might alert the entire neighbourhood that she was there.

"Listen to me," Hermione said firmly as her mother's mouth continued to move, yet made no sound.

"I am your daughter," at this Monica's mouth fell shut, and the stream of silent obscenities which had been pouring forth from it ended too. Now she just stared at the girl, too shocked to even think.

Hermione allowed sometime for the news to sink in, it was only when her mother had regained some of the colour in her face that she proceeded, "I am a witch."

At this Susan's mouth stretched into what was unmistakably silent laughter. "Oh yes, very funny, well, how do you explain the fact that you can't talk now? How do you explain the fact that I half disappeared in the garage? That's all magic you know, I could do a bit more to convince you if you want mum," and with this Hermione whipped out her wand. She pointed it at the teacup that her mother was holding, the woman jerked back looking scared, "Accio," she said and the teacup zoomed out of her mothers hand straight into Hermione's outstreched one.

If her mother had been looking scared before, she was now looking petrified. She seemed to be contemplating running away and she had even edged her chair away slightly. Hermione hated herself for what she was about to do next and to make herself feel just that little bit better she informed her victim of what she was about to do. "I'm sorry," she began softly, "But I need to get your memory back, and I don't think I'll be able to while you're conscious. I'm going to have to knock you out," her voice sounded far off and miserable even to her own ears.

Raising her wand in a fast motion, so as to get it over and done with, Hermione stunned her mother and then performed the spell that would give Susan her memory back. Now all she had to do was stand here pouring her energy into her mother for half an hour to complete the process. Once again she wished that she hadn't made her memory charm quite so complex.

Hermione's body seemed to be under severe strain with all the effort she was exerting. Her forehead was beaded with sweat, all of her limbs hurt, and she had the worst headache in the world. She knew that she could lift this spell though, the pain of putting it in place had been far greater and she had managed that, even though she had been out cold for ten minutes after.

Time ticked on, seconds lengthened into hours, every minute felt like a day. She was just about to give up and jerk her wand away, when the white light streaming from its tip into Susan's body came to a halt. Hermione sighed with relief and slumped to the floor, leaning against a nearby wall. It would be a while before she had the strength to wake Susan from her current stunned state. To think that she was going to have to lift this spell once more, to think that she had placed it twice.. Hermione was slightly in awe of herself.

For now though there was nothing more she could do, her body shut down completely and she passed into a fitful slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

So, it's another relatively short chapter to this story. Hope you guys like it and don't forget to review.

**I am not JK Rowling and do not own Harry Potter**

**Chapter Four: Sleepyheads**

Susan Granger woke with a groan. She was still for a second, trying to get back to sleep. It was useless. She stood shakily, her balance somewhat impaired by her recent nap on the floor. That was when she caught sight of Hermione.

She only remembered who the girl was halfway through the blood-curdling shriek that was ripping its way out of her mouth. Unable to stop herself any other way she shoved her fist into her mouth and felt her teeth clamping down around it. She winced in pain, not quite able to believe that as a forty-nine year old woman, she had bitten herself.

She didn't focus on her own pain for long though. Her eyes were soon directed to the limp figure slumped against her dining room wall. Susan's subconscious mind had missed her daughter immensely and she fought back the tears that pricked against her eyes with difficulty.

Hermione looked a mess, sweat beaded her face, and her hair was hanging around her face in frizzy strands. Susan reached out a hand and tucked those stray strands behind her daughter's ears. She smiled when Hermione's sweet face twitched slightly as if in answer and then sank back into its unconscious state.

She supposed she should be slightly mad with her daughter for taking away her memory, but she couldn't manage it. Not at the moment anyway, Hermione looked so helpless and vulnerable lying there against the wall with her neck resting on her shoulder. Susan frowned, that looked like an uncomfortable position.

Wondering how long Hermione's neck had been resting like that, she wandered off into the house to find a pillow for her daughter. She would have carried her to a bed, but she wasn't quite sure she was strong enough to lift her daughter. Instead she returned with the softest pillow she could find and placed it gently behind Hermione's head. Her daughter didn't react, just shifted slightly to make herself more comfortable.

Susan wished that she could just sit there and observe Hermione, but she couldn't. Bill, or Wendell, as he was now known, would be arriving home soon and he knew nothing about this. She really didn't want to have to explain to her husband what Hermione was doing, asleep in their living room. At least not while Hermione's charm was still on him.

She frowned as she tried to think of a solution to her problem. Hopefully Hermione would wake up before Bill came home, but if she didn't….Susan decided that the best course of action would be to keep a lookout at the window and see whether Bill had arrived yet or not. She didn't know what she would do if she did see him coming, but she thought a little warning might be nice. Maybe she could throw a carpet over Hermione or something, to try and disguise her presence?

She sighed and picked the seat closest to the window, and began to watch, waiting nervously for her husband's arrival. Every now and then she snuck a look at her daughter, who looked almost peaceful in her unconscious state.

She looked at the cups of tea which still sat on the table in front of her, relatively untouched. An idea was forming in the back of her mind. She knew it would be wrong knock out her husband with drugs…but what other choice did she have? He was sure to kick up a fuss and alert the whole neighbourhood if he saw Hermione.

The whole unpleasant situation could be easily avoided if Susan just slipped some of the sleeping pills, that they kept on the top shelf of the pantry, into his evening cup of tea and that would be the end of it. He'd drift off and it would give Hermione an opportunity to remove her charm. All she knew was that it was a more humane way of doing things than just knocking people out with spells, like her daughter had done. Susan shook her head, Hermione never had been very subtle.

She'd have to tell Bill to go round the back though, or he'd catch sight of their daughter anyway and all her planning would be for nothing. Knowing that she'd have to get moving soon or it would be too late, Susan continued to stare at the table. She couldn't help it. There was so much to think on, all of her memories had been restored and it felt like sunlight had finally reached the darkened crevices of her mind. There were no more shadows.

She smiled happily and sank into her memories, completely unaware of where she was. Her plan was entirely forgotten as she drifted off into a waking dream. Hermione stirred, the sound waking Susan from her day dreams. "Hermione!" she exclaimed, waking her daughter fully.

"Hi, mum," Hermione said with a lazy half-smile. The rest had been so pleasant. She wanted to sink back into it, but the excitement of seeing her mother, with her memory fully restored, kept her awake.

Susan crossed the space between them and hugged her daughter tightly. Almost instantly Hermione felt safe, there was something so comforting and familiar about those arms. They were her refuge, her safe-haven, from her crazy hectic life. She felt protected in her mother's arms. She sighed, not wanting those arms to leave her ever again. Not wanting to feel vulnerable ever again.

The sound of the doorbell cut through the silent house, causing Susan to disentangle herself from her Hermione's arms with an apologetic smile. "It's you father," she explained to her now confused daughter. "Go hide yourself somewhere, anywhere. Just make sure he doesn't see you," Susan sounded almost frantic as she pulled Hermione off the ground and pushed her through the open door into the living room. The door slammed shut behind her.

She stood still on the other side of the door for a second, unable to decide where to go in this strange and unfamiliar house. Then she heard her father's voice drifting through the light wooden walls, "I thought I heard voices," he said suspiciously. The trudge of footsteps nearing the door told her that any second now they would be bursting into the room.

All hesitance disappeared and she scurried silently to the first open door she saw, taking care to close it softly behind her. She leaned against it, breathless even from her slight exertion, listening intently to every move that her parents were making in the adjoining room. She hoped that her mother had some kind of plan, because she most certainly didn't.


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N **Sorry for the long wait, I've had little time and no inspiration for writing for a while, but I'm trying to update all of my stories now. I hope that you guys enjoy it and remember to review!

It all belongs to JK Rowling.

** Chapter Five Tea**

Hermione leaned against the door, making sure that her back was pressed firmly against it. If her father decided to open it he wouldn't be able to. While she sat, ears pricked for any sound of footsteps heading her way, Hermione looked around her. It seemed that her memory charm had been so effective that not only had her mother forgotten her old life, but also her old tastes.

The corridor that she found herself in was full of bold, garish colours, something that Susan Granger would never have liked, but that apparently Monica Jenkins had no problem with. From where she sat, though, Hermione could see a small triangle of her parents' bedroom and this seemed like the only thing in the house that Susan would have liked. It was white, clinically so and reminded Hermione of a dental practice. Perhaps her mother's subconscious mind had been trying to tell her something?

Hermione jumped as she heard a sharp raised voice. It was definitely her father's, "Why can't I go to the bathroom Monica?"

"You just can't Bill...I mean Wendell," her mother's voice sounded panicked. Hermione bit her lip, much as she was enjoying listening to her parents' voices she needed to get out of here before _Wendell_ decided to come on through. She hoped that if she disapparated the loud, popping noise would tell her mother that she had left.

"Let me go Monica!" There was a scuffle and then footsteps alerting Hermione to the fact that her father was coming. It was now or never, still drained from lifting the spell off her mother, Hermione closed her eyes and concentrated. She vanished with a loud pop just as the door swung open.

Bill jumped, "What was that?" he was all but shouting.

"Nothing, nothing," Susan tried to play it down, "Maybe a car backfired in the street...Look, Wendell, I think you're a little too stressed out at the moment, how about some tea?"

"I told you I'd have some tea after I'd gone to the bathroom!" and he stormed off to do just that.

Susan sighed as she wandered back to the kitchen slowly, she wondered where Hermione was now. It was all her fault, if she'd just been able to coax Bill into having his tea before he went to the bathroom then Hermione would never have had to leave. Bill would have been knocked out by now and Hermione could have lifted the memory charm.

She stirred her tea absently, looking out the same window she had earlier that day. That was when she caught it, a glimpse of bushy hair. An odd sense of deja vu flooded her, but that was eclipsed by the happiness. So Hermione hadn't gone far at all. In fact her daughter was running up to the house right now.

"Alohomora!" a whispered charm at the door and then Hermione was inside.

Susan rushed over and hugged her before bundling her into the pantry. "Hide here till I tell you to come out," she instructed firmly.

"So you have a plan?"

Susan merely nodded and shut the door in her daughter's face. She then went back to the kitchen counter and picked up the two mugs of steaming hot tea she'd made earlier and carried them to the dining room. The drugs were in the one on the left hand side. She set it down on the far side of the fluoro blue tablecloth, where Bill tended to sit, with a little sound of disgust. What had she been thinking when she'd bought that?

She then carried her own mug to the other end of the table and took a sip before putting it down on the table. "Hey," Bill greeted her as he sat down. Susan merely nodded, she was too keyed up to speak.

"So this is the tea you've been raving on about is it?" said Bill as he took a long draught of the liquid and exhaled deeply.

"Yes," Susan said, relief flooding her the moment her husbands lips touched the rim. Everything was going to work out, she smiled, "Good isn't it?"

Bill didn't reply, he was too busy drinking, well actually gulping, down the tea. It seemed that he was determined to finish it all in one go. When he was done he drew his sleeve across his mouth, Susan winced at this, thinking that her husband of old would never have done that she drank some more of her own tea. "Mmmm sure is good Monica," Bill told her and she smiled, knowing that it wouldn't be long now till she'd have Bill back. Only a few minutes.

Meanwhile, Hermione sat in the closet twiddling her thumbs. She'd lit up her wand tip and was perusing the food labels out of pure boredom as she bit her nails and waited. That was when she heard it a loud thump, as of a body hitting the floor. Confused she jumped to her feet, hitting her head on the shelf above where she was sitting, "Ow," she said stupidly before she recovered herself.

This time she was more careful, sliding forward while still hunched over before pushing open the door. She knew that her mother had told her to stay in the cupboard until she said to come out, but that crash had sounded vaguely ominous and Hermione was sure that something had gone wrong. Once outside she stood up silently, determined to find out what was going on.


End file.
